The Projector Predicament

Whether you’re a school or house of worship looking to spend the big dollars on a projector, getting the best projector for your needs feels important. But with this brand, that brand, lasers, lamps, brightness, colors, and blah blah blah, it get can get confusing. All that being said, I’m going to go over three types of projector pros and cons, and give you, our dear reader, a list of questions to ask when you’re in the projector predicament.

Lamp Projectors

These guys are the ol’ tried and true. The true value these projectors have is that they are relatively very inexpensive. Lamp-based projectors are best used when not running 24/7, why is that? Well, that’s because there is a laundry list of cons. 

Firstly, lamp-based projectors have the lowest life span before having to replace the lamp. It certainly ranges but, it's roughly 10k hours of life. Once it dies, you’ll have to replace the lamp and if you're not comfortable with surgery on your tech, this may not be for you. Other negatives with lamp projectors are that they need warm-up and cool-down time when turning them on and off. They can get very hot while running, and lamps are not the most energy-efficient or environmentally friendly.

All that being said, how cheap they are can balance out the negatives. As they say, money is king.

LED Projectors

The next step up are LED projectors, so what's great about these guys? Well, there are nowhere near as many nit-picky details as lamp projectors. They have on average a 20k-30k hours of run time before they crap out (and usually run cooler than their lamp-based siblings). Like lamp projectors, LED projectors can also be cost-effective depending on your needs. Lastly, they can come in some of the most compact form factors, and are also known for their great color accuracy.

Now the cons, LED projectors are not that bright! So if you want a projector that you plan to put in a well-lit room, this one might not be for you.

Laser Projectors

Lasers have a lot of functions and options, but what is the cost? The answer is a lot of $$$.

Laser projectors are generally the brightest type of projector you can get on the market, best suited for bright rooms. Just like their LED sisters, they also often run cooler than a lamp-based option. Other upsides include a 20k-30k lamp life that has a wide range of color, fast start-ups, and options for Ultra Short Throw (UST). 

While this projector may sound like it will fit all your needs, as I said at the beginning, these guys are expensive. That's really about the only drawback.

The BIG Questions to Ask

Cool, we just went through the main Pro’s and Con’s but what does all that mumbo jumbo mean for you? Here are some questions to ask when you’re shopping for a projector.

What is the projector being used for & what do you really want out of your projector?

If you’re using a projector for movie nights with the family, you may care about how sharp and color accurate the image looks, so you may want a laser or LED projector. But on the flip side, if you’re wanting a projector to be a permanent fixture for a series of classrooms, maybe something less expensive, such as a lamp or LED system, agrees with your budget better. I find that once the priorities are set, the choice between the three types of projectors becomes two types.

When your projector is in use, how bright is the space you're using it in?

Brighter spaces need a brighter projectors for the best image. A 4,000 lumen projector outside on a sunny day will look faded compared to inside in a dark room. While a 12,000 lumen projector could handle both spaces depending on conditions.

Something to be mindful of is a lot of companies make claims on how bright their projectors are with varying degrees of truth. When shopping around look for products that label their brightness in ANSI lumens vs just “lumens”. ANSI stands for “American National Standards Institute” and the lumen values with those letters in front mean the projector has gone through many standardized tests indicating a high accuracy of given brightness values.

How often will the projector be in use?

If you're not planning on using the projector daily or weekly, how much money actually makes sense to spend on a projector?

How far away will the projector be from the projection surface and how large of an image do you want?

The location and screen size heavily affects how bright of a projector you may need. Without going into too much detail about the Inverse Square Law, the further away the projector is from the projection source, the dimmer the image will be. The distance can also affect what kind of lens you may need for the projector, but that’s a whole other topic for another time. Calculators like this are very helpful when trying to find the right distance, image size, and lens for your needs.

The money question: What’s the budget?

If money is not an issue, a laser projector would most likely fit the bill. If spending is high priority, a lamp and LED systems may fit your needs best. Just a reminder: Lamp-based projectors are cheap upfront, but will have running costs when factoring in lamp replacements. I would suggest if you’re leaning towards a lamp system, run the numbers on how often you’ll need to replace the lamp, including parts and labor.